I just read the draft memo from the City (pdf format) and I am (as I somehow expected) stunned. I often bike and drive on Ericksen and Hildebrand. I have never seen a serious traffic jam nor a a non serious traffic jam, never. I cannot imagine that connecting Ericksen and Hildebrand (by destroying the mini-park) would do anything but uselessly spend public money.
The fact that drivers have to turn around and drive over bumps in a parking area makes them slow down which is exactly what is needed. I wonder how long the "study" has studied the traffic because the only reference I found is November 7, 2006 between 4 and 6 pm (supposedly the peak hour).
By the way, why is this a "peak hour" and where do those cars come from and go to? The memo does not say anything about that.
Do we really want to figure out the future of this place because of "peak hours" while ignoring the rest of the time? This is non-sense. A small number of merchants are pushing for a connection because I imagine they think their customers would be more numerous and happier. I think they are wrong and those merchants represent a tiny minority within this neighborhood although they used at length the Chamber of Commerce to voice their point of view.
The key for the Ericksen neighborhood is to remain mobilized, organized and vocal like we were for Grow Avenue. I don't see anything cyclists would gain although the memo tries to imply as much.